Ichi-go Ichi-e
by spainsexual
Summary: "It sort of means that this moment will only happen once, so treasure it." Roxas never realized the importance of that phrase until many years after he had first heard it, and after that epiphany he decided that it was the most significant one he'd ever heard. Akuroku and other pairings later on. AU.


Hey everyone! This is a new story that I am really excited about! This is my very first time writing a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, despite loving this series for the longest time.

**Warnings: **Alternate Universe. Yaoi and het pairs. Genderbent!Isa. Character death later on.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy 7. *sobs*

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_**Chapter 1: Friends **_

Axel and Roxas sat atop the clock tower in Twilight Town, absently licking at their Sea-Salt ice cream. It was a day just like any other, yet it was so much more.

The two boys had been best friends for as long as they could remember. They had first met when Axel had seen the younger boy get hit by a bigger kid. The red-head defended him then, and from that moment on he swore to protect Roxas.

"Hey Roxas, wanna hear this cool Japanese saying that my big brother told me about?" Axel asked, although knowing that whether or not the blonde boy would say yes he would tell him anyway.

Roxas nodded, continuing to enjoy the icy treat in his hand.

"It's _ichi-go ichi-e. _It sort means that this moment will only happen once, so treasure it!" the older of the two stated matter-of-factly.

The younger boy looked toward Axel, blinking with wide blue eyes. "Hmm, sounds cool. I'll remember that," he replied, kicking his small legs as he turned back to face the sunset, sighing contentedly. If it were up to Roxas, he would eat Sea Salt ice cream and watch the sunset with his best friend for the rest of his life.

_._

_10 years later_

Sora glared at his youngest brother, Roxas. Although he loved the somewhat shy blonde to death, the 14-year-old could be so stubborn at times!

"For the love of god, Roxas, you should just tell Axel how you feel about him!" he had only raised his voice a small amount, not trying to stir an actual argument with his brother.

Roxas groaned and rolled his eyes, "It's not that simple, you know! He's with Isa... Besides, I don't want to put our friendship in jeopardy." It was true. Roxas had fallen madly in love with the guy he had been friends with since preschool.

Axel.

He adored everything about his friend, from the way his entire face lit up when he laughed to his lame catch phrase. Roxas smiled, picturing his friend pointing to his head and mouthing the words 'got it memorized?'

"Whatever. Anyway, I gotta go. Riku and Kairi want me to go and hang out at the beach with them. Tell Cloud I'll be back home by dinner time," with that, the energetic brunette had left the room, picking up a bag with some beach essentials on his way out.

Roxas smiled. Despite small disturbances here and there, his life in Twilight Town was great. He had many caring friends.

Namine was one of his best friends, only second to Axel. She was a bit shy like him, and loved to draw. Even though the timid girl was quiet, he knew he could count on her as one of the few he could go to for advice or confide in. She was always there for him, and he could not thank her enough for that.

Then there was Namine's sister Kairi. While she was more of Sora's friend, he still considered her as more than an acquaintance. She was always very kind to him, and he thought that she was a lot like her older sister, Aerith.

Aerith was the most kind woman in the world. Her smile was pleasant and warm. She seemed to always know how to comfort others. She treated everyone with such an astounding kindness. She truly was an amazing person.

The two people who Aerith adored the most, though, were Zack and Cloud. Zack and Cloud were polar opposites, yet their love was undeniably obvious. Much like Axel and Roxas, the two had been best friends since childhood. Roxas had always noted that his older brother, Cloud, had an especially soft spot for Zack. While he was very cold to most people, he was only slightly cold to Zack. Plus, he had seen the two share a rather intimate kiss.

Along with them came Tifa, who was a bit of a tomboy. She was very good at fighting, and loved to prove it. She often spent time with Cloud, who was like a brother to her. She was the one that had initially told him to approach Zack.

There was also Reno, who was Axel's older brother. Reno was much like Axel, only a bit more clumsy. He often got into small bouts of trouble because of his reckless attitude, but he knew when enough was enough. Roxas thought it was funny how Reno would tease Axel the way Axel teased him.

Of course there were his other two brothers, Sora and Ventus. Ventus was his twin, and more like Sora. He was often happy and a bit naïve. However, unlike Sora, he was not immature and impulsive.

Sora's best friend was Riku. Riku was a bit silent, but he did crack a joke from time to time. He was very easy hang around. Roxas hoped that one day Riku would finally have the nerve to ask Sora out.

Lastly, there was Vanitas, Terra, and Aqua. They were all Ventus' best friends. Terra was known throughout their small town for letting his emotions cloud his view on things, Aqua was known for her wisdom that far surpassed her years, and Vanitas was known for his borderline insanity. Many of the townspeople stayed away from him because of his tendency to laugh like a maniac, but his friends knew that he wasn't really psychotic. The raven-haired boy only acted like he was at times.

These were Roxas' friends, and he cared about them more than anything else. He hoped they all could remain friends forever.

Roxas sighed, glancing at the clock on his wall. It was a little past noon. He only had to wait a few more hours until Axel would get back home from boot camp. He had anticipated this day for a few months, and was now feeling relieved that he would finally be able to see his best friend again.

Quite a few of Roxas' friends had decided they wanted to join the military, and all for different reasons. Out of the bunch, there was Axel, Sora, Terra, Vanitas, Cloud and Zack. Axel and Sora both joined because they dreamed of adventure and seeing different worlds. Terra enlisted in hopes that the army would teach him discipline and how to distinguish what was best for everyone. Vanitas simply joined because he loved to fight, and what better way than to join the army? Maybe he was a little crazy... Finally, Zack claimed that he wanted to become a hero since he was a small boy, so everyone sort of expected that he would join the military. Cloud had followed Zack on this mission because he could not even fathom being away from the other male for too long, much to Clod's chagrin.

Roxas reached for the remote on his bedside table, switching on the television.

_"There are still many reports of mysterious deaths occurring in the world of Hollow Bastion. Some believe it could be a disease while others believe there are darker forces at work. The ruler of this world has released a statement that they do not know the root of this, but they are working to find out what is going on. There has been-" _

"Y'know, watching things like that will only make you act more like a zombie than you already are," a familiar, sarcastic and quirky voice said from the door.

The blonde looked up from his spot on the bed, has eyes lighting up as he saw who it was. "Axel!" He leaped from his bed, pouncing on the other male to give him a hug.

"Hey woah, man! Chill out. It's only been a few months!" the emerald eyed male hugged his friend bag just as tightly, despite being startled at the sudden show of affection.

He was happy to see that Roxas was showing so much compassion. It was usually the other way around. Axel would poke Roxas' cheek and the shorter male would swat his hand away, muttering obscenities at him. Axel decided that he liked this attitude on Roxas.

"Don't get too cozy yet ," Axel's grin suddenly faded into a frown. He placed his hands on Roxas' shoulders, looking directly at the other male. "There was a lot of talk goin' on back at the camp. They said that they know exactly what's going on in Hollow Bastion. I can't really tell you much yet, but they told us all to get ready to get summoned for war."

In that moment, it seemed as though Roxas' entire world stopped.

_War. _

In all of his life, he had never witnessed war. He'd only ever read about it in history books. This worried him. He knew that many people died in war. The odds of Axel or one of his friends dying was high. He bit his lip, looking down.

"It's not confirmed yet, right?" he asked, praying that the answer was no.

"Not necessarily, but the sergeant told us that there's a 90% chance that that's where things are probably headed," he replied solemnly.

He noticed the smaller boy's troubled expression and immediately changed his demeanor, donning the most wide grin he could muster, "Don't worry, kiddo. We still have time to have fun, so we should make the most of it! How about we go meet up with Namine and eat some ice cream?"

The younger male nodded, figuring that ice cream did sound good at that particular moment.

The two best friends set out to have fun. Little did anyone know that this would be the last time for a very long time that any group in their little circle of friends would be complete.

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So what did you guys think? Did you like it? Please review. I PROMISE to update at least once a week. I already have the entire plot of this story written, so I'll update often. Prepare yourselves, guys, because I assure you that this story is about to get interesting. Also, sorry that this was kind of short... Anyway, thanks for taking time to read my story!


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